Looking around the New York Times the other day I ran into an article about the transfer of the remains of a Chilean revolutionary war hero to civilian control after about 30 years of being held by the military. The paper compared it to if the remains of George Washington were finally being returned to Mount Vernon after 30 years in the Pentagon. This on its own is symbolically notable of the decreasing role the military is playing in politics in Latin America. But the part of the article that stuck out the most to me was the name of this George Washington parallel - Bernardo O'Higgins. Here we have possibly the most revered historical figure in a Latin American country with a last name that immediately betrays that he is not from Hispanic descent. It really impressed me, because it reveals a multicultural acceptance at a very early point that is shocking for the world in general in the early 19th century. At the same time the Irish were viewed by many as inferior and undesirable here in the United States, they (or at least one) were seen as revolutionary heroes in Chile. The article give the impression that he is very strongly revered to this day in Chilean society.
Article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/international/americas/10chile.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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